Man of The Year
by LittleDarlingDahlia
Summary: Paul and Bella are imprints, destined, their love is even written in the stars… but what happens when love and destiny aren't so easy. Their love is real and real life is full of twists and turns. Lasting love requires effort, communication, and above all… trust.
1. Chapter 1

"Isabella Swan?" My new bio teacher at my new school just called out at the end of roll-call. It was as if he was trying to embarrass me more by putting more attention on "the new girl" who showed up in the middle of the year.

"Just Bella, please." I reminded him. Today was my second day at Forks High, and my strange desk partner from yesterday had begged the Mr. Banner to let him switch partners, so now, I am sat next to Jessica Stanley, and Edward Cullen can stare at me from the back of the room. Mr. Banner hardly acknowledged my request and just plugged along with his presentation, which consisted of some directions and a quick "just figure it out for yourselves." He then went on to read a TV and Entertainment magazine, doing his best to ignore us. It turned out that Jess was smarter than she had let on yesterday when I had met her. I had written her off as a bit of a airheaded gossip girl, I was pretty glad that she was proving me wrong, it would be nice to have some friends while I am staying in Forks.

I moved here so that I could live with my dad while my irresponsible mother traveled with her new husband who was in the minor league. Everyone keeps telling me how selfless I am being and how I am so generous to do the right thing for my mom, but to be honest, she all but kicked me out. I didn't want to come here to Nowhere, Washington. Renee had told me that she wanted to travel with Phil's team and that it would break her heart to continually disrupt my schooling. The thing is though, I really could have graduated last year. I am not a genius by any means, I'm just overly responsible and for some reason I genuinely enjoy doing school work. Basically her reasons don't make sense. The truth is that she just doesn't need me anymore. She took me away from my father before I could even walk, and made me responsible for our wellbeing while she pranced around doing whatever it is that she does. She has Phil to take care of her now, so it's time to trade in the old model for a more masculine prototype.

Jess and I breezed through the assignment which left us plenty of time to really get to know one another while we waited for the rest of the class to catch up. By the looks of things, Jess and I were probably done for the rest of the class period.

"So, Bella, what do you like to do for fun?" She asked me, her eyes wide and genuinely curious.

"Honestly, not a ton of different things. I write sometimes, mostly poetry and short stories. I really like to go for walks, although I am clumsy so I don't go all that often, but I really like to explore and take pictures. What about you?" I told her. It was pretty long-winded for me compared to normal, but somehow I felt immediately close to Jessica. She excitedly blabbed on and on about makeup and fashion and it made me wonder why exactly I felt such a connection to her. That said, Jess was really pretty. She had bold green eyes and curly brown hair that was almost black. She was pale, but still darker than I was.

"Maybe sometime you'd model for me? I can take pictures and you can really go crazy with your fashion and makeup…" I suggested. I was pretty embarrassed, that was pretty bold to me. I didn't have very many friends at all in Phoenix due to generally being the odd one out, and I also did not have much free time from having to parent Renee. I had very little experience inviting someone out and to try to make friendships. I was relieved when Jess excitedly squealed and wiggled in her chair, seemingly very excited by the prospect of being a model for me.

The bell rang after that, and we grabbed all of our things and made our way to our final class of the day, Gym, which we conveniently had together. Angela, one of Jessica's friends also had Gym with us and after changing into our gym clothes, we met up with her. The class was instructed to simply walk around the outside track today since it was only sort of misty and mild out instead of full on rainy and cold.

It turned out that I also got on with Angela really well too. I had that instant connection with her as well for some reason. It did seem to make a bit more sense with Angela though, because she was a lot more similar to me than Jess. She liked to read, which I did as well, and she liked to cook. I had also grown a fondness of cooking just from cooking for Renee all those years. It definitely seemed like even though he was a lot more self-sufficient than Renee, I would probably be cooking regularly for Charlie as well. Aside from those hobbies, Angela genuinely liked school work too.

I learned more about Jess with school too. She was a lot smarter than I initially thought, but unlike Angela and I, she had very little interest and motivation for school, so she really just managed to slide by in all of her classes.

That was when some blond kid I had seen around already, who was wearing a letterman jacket jogged up to us. He was kind of cute in a boyish way, and he had a warm expression on his face that was currently being directed at the three of us.

"Hey, I'm Mike. Mike Newton." He introduced himself as he ran his fingers through his hair. He winked at me. I could tell that he was not going to be my favorite person, but I wanted to be polite, so I let my hair fall from behind my ear and gave him a shy "Hello, I'm Bella."

"Guess what? Bella is a photographer! She said that she wants to use me as a model, how cool is that?" Jess said to Mike. He nodded and agreed that it was cool, this seemed to satisfy Jess who continued to excitedly go on about ideas she had for cool outfits. I had told her I like to do series of different themes, so she had that in mind, and I was interested to see how some of her ideas would come out. Mike's reaction hadn't quite set well with me though. While he had responded to Jess, it was clear that his attention was still on me. I wouldn't like the attention normally anyway, but I could also tell that Jessica really had feelings for him too.

Some guy from across the track called out for Mike, so he jogged away in that direction, and I finally felt at peace again. I decided then that I did not care much for Mike Newton. Jess was momentarily disappointed with Mike's departure, but snapped out of it as soon as he was far enough away that he couldn't hear us.

"Ohmygod. He is so cute." She gushed. I saw Angela roll her eyes and I just half-heartedly agreed with her to keep the peace. "He's so popular and good at everything."

"No Jess, he isn't good at everything and you know it. You're too good for him." Angela said. She seemed to be a fairly timid girl up until this point, so I knew that she must feel strongly about this guy. I decided to file this bit of information away so that I could ask her more about it later. I cared about Jess already and didn't want her to get hurt. Jessica was about to respond back to Angela but she was interrupted by the guy who had called Mike.

"Hey, new girl!" He shouted. "I'm Tyler, Bonfire in La Push on Friday night!"

I just awkwardly waved at him, unsure of what to say. There was no way I was going to yell across the track right now, I already had too much attention on me because of being the "new girl."

"Oh yeah I forgot that was this Friday." Jess said, then added, "Oh we have to go guys! We need to make an impression for next year! It's our last one before we graduate!" To clear things up it was currently the beginning of April which only left a month and a half left of the school year. Then we would have summer break and our last year of high school right after. It was a big moment really, although I felt like it probably meant a lot more to Jess and Angela than it did to me since they will have gone through all of their schooling in the sleepy town of Forks.

"I don't know Jess…" I didn't know how to turn her down, but I wouldn't know anyone and would just sort of be there, I wasn't feeling it.

"My boyfriend Ben and I will be there." Angela told me, hoping I would feel more comfortable with an extra friendly face, even if I hadn't met Ben yet. Jessica chimed back in, reminding me that La Push beaches were beautiful and there would be plenty of picture perfect moments, so I could bring my camera. Then she lost me as she went on about getting all dressed up for the occasion.

"Alright, alright, I cave! I'll go!" I laughed as I interrupted her as she was still going on and on about makeup. She squealed in excitement and Angela told me she was glad that I would be going. The rest of gym class just passed uneventfully as Jess talked about what she was going to wear and I thought about what camera accessories I would need to bring with me due to the mist from the ocean, the likelihood that it would be dark, and the possibility of rain.

* * *

The week had passed by quickly and I currently found myself in Jessica's pink bedroom getting ready for the bonfire tonight. She had insisted that we all get ready together tonight so I had reluctantly agreed. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that Angela wasn't going to be here because her boyfriend, Ben, was actually from Port Angeles, so she was meeting him. Jess had made me try on several different outfits of hers but I had vetoed all of them. I decided on my own clothes. A white long sleeve t-shirt, some slim-straight indigo jeans, and black booties. I also had a forest green flannel tied around my waist in case it got chillier as it got darker.

Jessica had picked out a light blue blouse that was tight at the waist and sort of tapered out below it. She wore black high-waisted jeans and flat, white keds. She had straightened her mass of frizz hair and had topped the whole look off with sunglasses on the top of her head and a full face of makeup. Jess looked at me disapprovingly but agreed to disagree as long as I let her do my makeup as well. It was a bonfire, I felt like makeup would just be too dressed up for the event.

"Oh come on Bella, you never know what could happen. You could meet your soulmate tonight and then what? You went without makeup?" She made it sound like the most dramatic thing in the world. I rolled my eyes at her theatrics, gave her a "yeah, right" and finally just allowed her to have her way and put my face on.

"Damn, you look hot!" She whistled as she pulled away, finally done poking and prodding at my face. She laughed at what I guess was my miserable expression and helped me up. She guided me to the floor length mirror that hung on the back of her bedroom door, and she was right. I looked good. I blushed as I took my reflection in. She had put some brown eyeliner, some mascara, and a dusky, mauve color for my lips. She'd kept it pretty simple, which was a surprise to me, but I liked it.

"You ready then, hot stuff?" She winked at me. That's when I realized that I had been staring at myself in the mirror for entirely too long as she had already gotten a jacket for later and her purse together. I just blushed once more, nodded, and grabbed my wallet, shoving it into my back pocket, and wrapped my camera bag around my shoulder.

The drive only took about fifteen minutes and thank god because Jess drove like a maniac. She had been all over the road and speeding like a mad woman. I hopped out of her sedan and felt the cool air around me. I couldn't help but smile because while it was not the sunny, warm Phoenix I was accustomed to, but Washington had its own special kind of beauty. The bonfire was on first beach which meant that we did not have to hike through the forest to get to it, this was good news for the moment because of my general clumsiness, but also because I was carrying the giant tupperware full of the brownies I'd whipped up for the event.

We headed to where the fire was lit, thankfully it was still pretty light out and I could see that there was a large crowd of Forks students, and I could tell that there were Rez kids mixed in too. I could feel myself getting excited even though this wasn't really my scene. I was ready to get some good shots of the ocean with my camera. I could see huge rock masses like little islands scattered and I wanted to capture them before it got dark

With that said, I set down the brownies on a fold out table that had been set up for people to put food on. There was an array of different treats there. My phone buzzed in my pocket as I prepared my camera to take the photos. When I swiped through the lock screen a text message from Angela popped up on my screen. I could see that it had been sent to Jess as well. She was just letting us know that her and Ben were not going to make it to the bonfire after all. I was a little disappointed because I wasn't sure who I was going to talk to once I was done taking pictures. I just shrugged off that feeling and got to it.

It wasn't long before the beach was too dark to get good enough pictures with the equipment I had brought. I had been so focused while I was taking the pictures that I didn't notice right away, but now that I was putting my things away I felt like I was being watched. I told myself to stay calm as I finished gathering everything up and made my way back to the snack table.

Upon reaching the table I realized that all of the brownies I had brought were already gone. This made me smile, I was glad that some of the other party goers had enjoyed what I had baked. I still couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched though. I felt my phone buzzed and when I looked at the text, it was from Jess.

 _Dude. There is a serious hotty checking you out. 3 O'clock._ Was all she had said. I quickly looked up in the direction she had said and what did you know. There was a guy… or more a man looking straight at me.

He was easily the most attractive man I had ever seen. I allowed my eyes to travel from his bare feet all the way up his form. I took in his cut off shorts and his torso which was covered by a black sleeveless muscle tee. It may have been covering him but it couldn't hide the sinewy muscles bunched beneath the fabric. He was tall and his dark, warm skin seemed to almost glow in the firelight. When I met his eyes though, that was when I felt as if the Earth beneath my feet had fallen away and I was floating towards him like he had tied a cord to me and was pulling me in. I didn't know what it meant, but I bravely made my way to him and let out a slightly raspy "Hey, I'm Bella."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Hello, welcome to Man of the Year! This story will definitely have some darker themes later on (it's just so easy with Paul).**

 **Hope you have enjoyed the first chapter and will come back for some more as I upload.**

 **Check out my other stories if you are interested:**

 **Exposed: BellaxSam story**

 **We Own the Night: BellaxEmbry story**

 **Thank you and happy reading!**

 **-Dahlia**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

* * *

" _Hey, I'm Bella."_

I couldn't believe that I had been so straight forward. Honestly I just felt as if I needed to be closer to him immediately. I felt the same sort of instant connection I had towards Jess and Angela but times a thousand. Also add the fact that I wanted to climb into this stranger's arms...and bed, and never come out. I heard someone from across the fire say "oh shit" and when I looked over at where the voice had come from it was apparent that it had come from another man from the Rez. That guy was also staring right at us. I was confused, but I shrugged that off as a coincidence and went back to taking in the view before me.

"Hi Bella. I'm Paul." He said simply. I felt chills go down my spine when I heard his voice. He spoke fairly quiet with a deep, slightly gravelly tone. It was soothing and sexy at the same time. It called to me, pulling me in, just like everything else about him had. "It's nice to meet you Bella." He added, saying my name again. He said my name as if it was something to be cherished which didn't make sense to me, but it made me feel important, special, or something. I felt my cheeks turn red when he said this. I blush far too easily, but he was smiling the next time I looked at him. This only made me blush an even deeper shade of red. He had a beautiful smile.

"It's nice to meet you too." I said shyly. I felt silly now though, because I had come to him, but I didn't know what to say. My awkwardness was showing through in front of this beautiful stranger.

"Hey there, I'm Jess!" I was saved by Jess coming up from behind me to introduce herself to Paul. Maybe she had seen my struggle and had decided to come rescue me. Whatever the reason was, I was grateful.

"Hello" Paul said simply, his attention still very much on me.

"This is Paul by the way, you'll have to excuse him, he's just a little in shock that two ladies as lovely as you are really giving him the time of day. Normally it's just the street rats trying to get some. I'm Jared, and this is my girl, Kim." It was the same man from across the fire a moment ago. He and Paul looked like they could be brothers, both of them were very tall with warm skin, both were very handsome. I couldn't help but look back at Paul and even though he was frowning, shooting Jared a death glare, I immediately decided that he was the more striking of the two. His eyes were a hazel green that nearly glowed and while Jared's smile was friendly, Paul's was a sight for sore eyes and I wanted nothing more than to make him smile again.

I blushed again as it set in exactly what he was suggesting about Paul and the other kinds of women that he talked to. I had to admit, I wasn't thrilled to hear about the prospect of him with other girls. I tried to shake the feeling though because I don't even know this guy. I shifted my attention to the petite girl standing beside Jared.

Kim, was her name, and she just gave us a small smile in acknowledgement. She was only a little bit taller than me. She had deep set honey brown eyes and a thin nose with shoulder length black hair. I had the same feeling from her and Jared that I'd had from Jess and Angela when I'd met them. I was beginning to wonder what was up with that. Maybe this is just what it felt like to find your niche, I reasoned. I had never found that in Phoenix, I'd always just been different than the other kids.

After all of the introductions were done again and Jess had bragged about my photography, we all decided that it would be fun to take some pictures together. We stood by the blazing fire, surrounded by other people, but in the moment and in the picture, the group I was with stood out to me more than anyone else. I couldn't wait to look through all the shots when I got home, I know that there were several candids.

"Hey! My turn!" Jess exclaimed, gesturing towards my camera.

"Oh, no, I don't think so." I replied, completely unsure of allowing someone else handling my camera, especially someone as… energetic as Jess. Not to mention, I was very used to being the one behind the camera, and I liked it that way.

"Please, Bella! You need to get in some pictures too! I will be veeeerry careful!" She begged. She also waggled her eyebrows up and down suggestively while nodding in Paul's direction. I sighed and handed off my precious camera to Jess, unable to resist the opportunity to have pictures of Paul and I together.

Paul just smiled beside me politely for a couple of photos, but then both of us got a little bit more comfortable and got a picture of us both sitting on a large piece of driftwood, looking at each other. Kim and Jared joined us after that, and many more pictures were taken with the four of us together.

It was completely dark by the time we were done goofing off with my camera and the music was blasting, the gathering was in full force. Everyone was either eating or dancing or they were me, still awkwardly trying to talk to an unbelievably attractive guy as the rest of our group were mingling with other groups now. I could tell that Paul wasn't the most talkative person. He wasn't exactly awkward like me, but he also didn't fill silences with flowery conversation.

"Did you get to try the brownies before they were gone?" I asked lamely.

"I'm pretty much the reason they are all gone. They were so good." He told me excitedly, I could hear his stomach rumble next to me, which made us both laugh. "I want more, apparently." He added after that.

"I'll just have to make you some more sometime." I told him, blushing and watching out for his expression. He broke out into a wide grin and I swear I heard Jared mutter something along the lines of "lucky bastard" from across the fire pit.

"Hell yeah! Thanks!" I just blushed and nodded in response. It was quiet between us once more. I was lost in the colors of the flames. Someone had thrown some new driftwood in and the colors were magnificent. The normal red gave way to greens and blues from the salt. It was a rare clear night in La Push and when I looked up, we were surrounded by stars.

"Bella, would you like to go for a walk with me?" Paul asked. I simply nodded and wrapped my arm around the one he offered so that I would not trip in the sand. His skin was warm, really warm. I had been starting to get cold so earlier I'd put on the flannel I'd brought, but the chill was still seeping in. But Paul was like a space heater, walking alongside him, I was completely warm. I was currently walking away from the only group of people and only real source of light with a man that I had only just met. I should be scared, or at least nervous, but I wasn't. Paul made me feel comfortable and safe in a way I'd never felt before.

As we walked away from the other guests I felt my phone buzz again. I pulled it out and of course, it was from Jess:

 _Make sure you actually talk Bella! And KISS him!_

I sighed, typing back for her to mind her own business. I did smile at the thought of taking her advice though. I could only imagine what kissing Paul would feel like. I glanced back up at him, looking at me with those piercing eyes and full lips. That was when I decided that I would very much like to take Jess's advice.

"What's got you smiling like that?" Paul asked, giving me a curious look.

"Oh, just Jess telling me to kiss you." Paul's eyes went dark and intense and I realized that I had accidently said that out loud. My face went up in flames, I could just feel myself blushing deeper than ever before. My only saving grace was that maybe he couldn't see it due to the lack of light now that we were further from the fire. Far enough, in fact, that I could not see the fire or any of the crowd, only the glow emanating from it.

"I plan to kiss you, Bella." He told me with a straight face. His eyes were nearly glowing in the dark as he said this, giving away just how much he wanted to kiss me. He turned so that his whole body was facing towards me and ran on hand up my arm. Once he got to my neck, his fingertips gave me goosebumps. They trailed slowly along my bare skin until he wrapped his hand around where my neck and head met, entwining his fingers in my hair. He pulled me ever closer to him so that our lips were only inches apart.

"Paul…" I whispered. I don't know if it was a question or a statement, but I knew that I needed to kiss this man before me.

"Do you want me to kiss you Bella?" He asked, his breath brushing against my face.

"Yes."Was all that I said, and it was all the he needed. He breathed a "thank God" before he swooped in and his lips were on mine.

I might as well have been in heaven. His lips were warm and gentle, but confident at the same time. It was clear that he knew what he was doing, and I was taking it all in. I wrapped my arms around his neck, letting instinct take over, and gripped the ends of his black hair. It was soft and thick. I quietly moaned into his mouth overcome with the sensation and luxury of kissing him. Paul growled quietly in return, deepening the kiss.

"Woah!" We were interrupted by Jared who was running up to us. Paul's eyes filled with rage and I swear he snarled at Jared.

"Sorry man, but we need to go. Sam needs us." He said. I was disappointed by the interruption, even if I wasn't as angry as Paul seemed to be about it. I didn't want Paul to leave because I didn't know when, or if I would get to see him again. He looked down at me, his anger seeming to have faded as he was now smirking.

"I will see you soon, beautiful Bella." He whispered, quickly kissing me on the lips once more.

"Come on Bella, we can walk back to the fire together." Kim said. I hadn't realized that she had been with Jared, but I was glad that I wouldn't be walking back alone. Without Paul here, the woods that led up to the beach caused chills to run up my spine. Jared gave Kim a small, but meaningful kiss before he and Paul disappeared into said woods.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **Poor Bella is bound to have some questions soon...**

 **Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **I am heavily inspired by music when it comes to my writing, particularly these three stories I have been working on. That said, I've made some playlists, is that something you guys would be interested in me sharing? The songs that have inspired me are all over the board in terms of genre, so none of the playlists would be strictly any one genre. Let me know what you think :)**

 **~Happy Reading**

 **Dahlia**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I had so my questions about the night I went to the bonfire. Who was Paul really? Who was Sam? Where did they go?

I tossed and turned in my bed, unable to sleep because of all the questions racing through my conscious. Paul was a mystery. I felt butterflies in my stomach just at the thought of him. He was so warm and his kiss had been masculine and gentle all at the same time, it was indescribable.

My phone buzzed from beside me and in one insane moment I thought that it could be him and my heart was sent racing. It was just an email from some online car dealership that I never signed up for. Of course it wasn't him, he didn't have my phone number. I sighed out loud and decided that I would do a little bit of snooping.

I logged into Facebook and searched for Paul to see what I could find. Nothing came up. I'm not sure what I had been expecting since I hadn't made any friends on here yet, and I didn't know his last name. I quickly sent requests to both Angela and Jess, then shut it off.

I laid back down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. I was pining for this guy. I couldn't let that happen. All of life I had been as independent as I was smart and pining over a guy I had just met, and know virtually nothing about was neither of those things. I got myself up out of bed, threw on some fresh clothes, and grabbed my camera again.

It was early in the morning, so there was some sunshine out and I didn't intend on wasting it. The forecast predicted rain for later today and throughout the week, so I packed a lunch, left a note for Charlie, who was apparently sleeping in today, and stuffed a change of clothes in my over-sized bag. I chucked my bag into the truck, then gently sat the camera in the passenger seat and I was off.

I was headed towards first beach. I wanted to get pictures in the daylight of the boardwalk and small marina. I didn't allow myself to think of the fact that La Push is where I had the best chance to run into Paul again.

After I'd gotten to La Push I had spent about an hour by the marina and the boardwalk. I spoke with a few local fisherman, I wanted to take pictures of them as they were either preparing to go out, or had just come back in from fishing in the Pacific. Almost everyone was friendly and willing to let me take some pictures in exchange for letting them see when I was done. It was certainly a more relaxed business day for them on the weekends. I wasn't the type to talk to strangers or strike up friendships with random people, but photography gave me a motivation to be more social.

After the boardwalk and marina I walked, more so stumbled my was along the rocks and branches of the beach, snapping pictures every so often. I checked my phone to see what time it was, but it was only now about ten in the morning. It was far too early to have some lunch, so I plugged in my headphones and plopped them into my ears.

I sat on the giant tree that sat on first beach and played some music. The first song, one of my favorite songs came on. "Live Oak" by Jason Isbell rang out in my ear buds. I sat quietly, just enjoying the breeze that was getting stronger by the second, listening to him sing. There was a storm moving in, I could tell, but I wanted to listen to the whole song.

 _"_ _When I headed south at seventeen_

 _Ol' sheriff on my back_

 _I never held a lover in my arms or in my gaze_

 _So I found another victim every couple of days_

 _But the night I fell in love with her_

 _I made my weakness known."_

It started to drizzle so I pulled my headphones out as soon as the song had ended. I'd looked out with unseeing eyes as I'd listened to it. Now that I was taking in my surroundings I could see that there were no other people on the beach. The wind was howling and the waves were crashing all around me. How had this happened so quickly? I was still getting used to the weather here.

There was a chorus of sounds coming from all around me, signalling just how bad the storm was going to get. The boats in the marina were knocking into the boardwalk and into each other and I began to feel panicked as the rain started to fall down harder until it was dumping in buckets.

I ran as best as I could into the woods, hoping the trees would give me some kind of shelter. It was better, so I walked through the woods to get to my truck in the commuter lot. Through the trees was the long way to get there, but at least I didn't have to track further into the thick trees because I definitely would have gotten lost.

"Hey! Are you crazy?" A voice came from behind me. When I turned I was met with beautiful green-hazel eyes and a sharp jaw. He was soaked to the bone and he wore a black v-neck tee that may as well have been a second skin at this point. I was freezing in my long sleeve and jacket, so I know he must have been cold. Water was dripping off of us and so I just nodded pitifully instead of answering him out loud.

"Come on, let's get you out of the rain and cold. Where is your truck?" I told him where the truck was parked and he helped me climb through the fallen trees and foliage. Once we were to the truck he asked for my keys and he hopped into the drivers side.

"What about your truck?" I asked him once the heat was blowing on my cool skin.

"I was out for a run. I don't live far. Do you have a change of clothes?" I nodded in response. True to his word, we were already pulling into a driveway that led to a small, cozy- looking home. I couldn't make out many details of it now though because it was raining so hard. I wasn't even sure how Paul could have seen well enough to drive us here, but I trusted him.

Once the truck was in park, he came around and helped me hop down and out of my vehicle. We walked up a few stairs on onto a small deck, and made our way through the front door.

My teeth chattered loudly as he walked into the kitchen across the room to put on some coffee. I just stood where I was by the front door, watching him as he moved about. I was painfully attracted to him. He was very tall with narrow hips and broad shoulders.

He was still dripping wet and when he came back around the counter I was reminded that I was too by the look in his eyes. Paul took one predatory step closer to me and the tension in the room grew and grew until he was right in front of me, with his hand cupping my neck like he had done last night before he'd kissed me. I trembled in anticipation.

 **Author's Note:**

 **Update! I have also updated my BellxEmbry story - We Own the Night. Check it out!**

 **I've decided to incorporate the songs into the story as they can fit in without making it a song fic to add to the plot and story telling rather than just give ya'll a list of the songs. I have to keep you coming back for more right?**

 **The full song's lyrics are below, enjoy! (song credit: Live Oak by: Jason Isbell)**

 **Happy reading!**

 **Dahlia**

There's a man who walks beside me

It is who I used to be

And I wonder if she sees him  
and confuses him with me  
And I wonder who she's pinin' for  
on nights I'm not around  
Could it be the man who did the things  
I'm living now ?  
I was rougher than a timber  
shippin' out of Fond du Lac  
When I headed south at 17  
ol' sheriff on my back  
I never held a lover in my arms or in my gaze  
So I found another victim every couple days  
But the night I fell in love with her  
I made my weakness known  
Through the fires and the farmers diggin' dusty fields alone  
The jealous innuendos of the lonely hearted men  
Let me know what kind of country I was sleeping in  
Well you couldn't stay a loner  
on the plains before the war  
My neighbors had been slightin' me  
I had to ask what for  
Rumors of my wickedness had reached our little town  
Soon she'd heard about the boys I used to hang around  
We'd robbed a Great Lakes freighter,  
killed a couple men or more  
And I told her her eyes flickered like the sharp steel of a sword  
All the things that she'd suspected  
I'd expected her to fear  
Was the truth that drew her to me when I landed here  
There's a man who walks beside me  
he is who I used to be  
And I wonder if she sees him and confuses him with me  
And I wonder who she's pinin' for  
on nights I'm not around  
Could it be the man who did the things  
I'm living down ?  
Well I carved a cross from live oak  
and a box from shortleaf pine  
Buried her so deep  
she touched the water table line  
I picked up what I needed  
and I headed south again  
To myself I wondered  
would I find another friend  
There's a man who walks beside her,  
it is who I used to be  
And I wonder if she sees him and confuses him with me.


	4. Chapter 4

*lemon warning*

Chapter 4

 _Paul took one predatory step closer to me and the tension in the room grew and grew until he was right in front of me, with his hand cupping my neck like he had done last night before he'd kissed me. I trembled in anticipation._

He stretched out his thumb so that he could tilt my chin up with it. There was a strength in his hands that excited me for what was to come. He looked at me directly in the eye and I felt like I was being set up as kindling for an inevitable fire that couldn't be put out or even be tamed. And I wanted him to strike the match.

I leaned in closer to his rock solid form feeling wanting. I didn't even know what exactly it was that I wanted. I trusted him implicitly to tell me what it was that I needed. We were still just looking into each others eyes, yet somehow it felt like what we were doing was so much more. He was a predator and I was his willing pray.

Paul was eyeing me like a snack. He was playing with his food and I didn't think it was fair that I couldn't have a little taste of him too.

With that in mind, I eagerly jumped up, and trusted that he would know to catch me and that his reflexes were quick enough to be able to catch me. He did, and they were. I wasn't disappointed. As soon and he caught me and I was engulfed in his strength and warmth, there was no going back. My legs were wrapped around his waist, his hands were on my ass, and my lips were on his neck. All at once, the innocent kindling went up in flames, the fire officially ignited.

Paul immediately pushed me up against the front door and grinded into me. I made a small 'oof' noise because my back had hit the door pretty hard and then I'd felt just how big he was as he pushed into me. I was nervous that it wouldn't fit but I wouldn't lie and say I wasn't excited to try.

One of his hands drifted up my spine and back to my neck as he pulled my attention from his throat to his mouth. He had a small purple mark where I'd been nibbling and sucking on his neck and some sexual deviant inside of me hummed with pleasure at the sight.

Shivers coursed through me. Goosebumps appeared all across my pink skin and I moaned loudly when his tongue slipped between my lips and demanded dominance over me. He pushed me up again and his hard on pressed against my center through both of our clothes once more. I cried out, desperate for him to fill me where I was feeling empty. I had never noticed just how empty and incomplete my body felt until now.

He continued to rhythmically push into me and I moaned aloud again at the feeling of this man between my legs. I'd had little bit of experience when I lived in Arizona from a few guys, just some heavy petting. None of it compared in the slightest to what I was feeling now and neither of us even had any clothes off yet. He growled in my mouth and I decided it was time to shed some of those annoying layers.

Paul's shirt was still soaked and everything between us was wet and heavy and I was ready to just have his hot skin touching mine. I wanted to wrap my cold skin up in the protection of his heat. I tugged at the v-neck and Paul set me down for a moment to rip it off. He tossed the shirt carelessly away from us. And oh my god, his body was perfect. It was like he had been sculpted by the gods. He was all mocha skin, hard angles, and bunching sinewy muscle. I leaned into him before he could do anything else and I attached my lips, my teeth, and my tongue to his strong jaw, then collar bone, then down his sleek abdomen.

I could feel his dark hazel eyes watch me. He was intense and I was eating it up, licking and sucking at him like an ice cream cone. But I wanted a different part of him in my mouth and I wanted it now. I kissed and nipped at his developed 'V' and traced my fingertips around his soft happy trail hair. He let loose a low, soft growl and involuntarily pushed his hips into me a little. I smiled and decided to take my time to tease him a bit.

I guess he wasn't one to let me tease long though, because the next thing I knew, his pants were unzipped and pushed all the way down around his ankles. It only took a second longer before his thick cock was slid all the way to my throat. I gagged a little, which squeezed the walls of my throat around him, making him moan.

I marveled at the size of him, unable to fit him all the way into my eager mouth. His cock was thick and long and proud. I once again had that feeling of emptiness between my legs. I was soaked at this point and ,y pussy yearned for attention. I wanted to make him feel good first though so I used one hand to steady myself against him. I had it squeezing his sculpted ass and used the other hand to pump the remainder of his dick while I licked and sucked every bit that I could.

"Oh, god damn woman." Paul breathed-growled out. His hands were twisted up in my hair and he was gently thrusting into my mouth as I worked him. I made it as sloppy and messy as possible to keep him slick through my lips.

"Fuck." I loved that I was having this effect on him. I'd never been quite so brazen before, but he had been on my mind all day and I had felt so drawn to him in a way I had never felt about anyone or anything before. Then, when we got here to his place, he'd had little droplets of water tracing a path down his flawless form and I'd found myself jealous of those droplets of water. Despite our naive attempt to make this about staying sheltered from the storm and getting to know each other over coffee, I simply couldn't contain my need for him.

Between my legs the fire roared on and I was getting wetter and wetter, more ready for him to take me as I continued to suck on him. I was delighted by the masculine sounds I was drawing out of him from deep in his chest. Turning him on was turning me on and I was lost in our bodies together.

"God, you smell good." He told me. I was a little confused how he could smell me from where we were but I was too far gone to be put off by the statement. I'd especially given up on thinking when he took that moment to pick me up and carry me to his couch, which thankfully wasn't very far.

"It's your turn baby." His voice rumbled, rougher and deeper than he had spoken to me before and I felt another flood of wetness rush to my center.

 **Author's Note:**

 **More to come next chapter...**

 **Happy Reading!**

 **Dahlia**


	5. Chapter 5

*Lemon warning still in effect

Chapter 5

" _It's your turn baby." His voice rumbled, rougher and deeper than he had spoken to me before and I felt another flood of wetness rush to my center._

He bent over me and kissed me roughly. He bit onto my bottom lip the slightest amount and I gasped, opening my mouth to him. He took that as permission to slip his talented tongue in. His hands found the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head and flung it to join in with his clothes scattered all over the floor.

He lifted my bra so that it rested in the top of chest and dove in with his lips and teeth without bothering to take it all the way off. My pebbled, pink nipples currently held all of his attention and I could feel the fire building in my tummy. I was sensitive, more so than I realized and just his attentiveness to my nipples, paired with my sheer attraction to him made me cum in my pants.

I moaned loudly and let myself just breathe for a moment. I hadn't been expecting that to happen so quickly. I wanted more though, I wanted him inside me, now. I pulled my pants down, then looked at Paul when I realized he hadn't moved.

Paul was taking a moment, he made a rumbling hum sound and closed his eyes, his nose flared and I could tell he was breathing more deeply. When he opened his eyes back up they were a golden honey color, not their normal hazel...

I gasped and when he leaned in towards me I shot my hands out and used them as a barrier between us. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion and a slight frown settled on his lips, despite that, he leaned back to give me space.

I shot up off the couch, thankful that he just watched me as I stumbled around trying to put my clothes back on and didn't try to stop me. I slowly backed away from him. Once I'd made it to the door, that was when his eyes turned back to their normal hue right before my eyes.

"Bella, I can explain. I…" Paul fumbled over his words a bit, more unsure than I had seen him up until this point.

A soundless expression crossed my face and I could feel myself shake my head, bewildered. I turned and burst out of the front door and into the raging storm. I couldn't think anything other than, and I don't curse often, "what the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck?"

It wasn't until I was barely settled into my semi-quiet truck that I realized I was muttering my mantra aloud. I thrusted my truck into reverse and flew like a bat out of hell until I couldn't see Paul's home in my physical or mental eye.

My windshield wipers were working in overdrive swishing the rain back and forth, even though it was raining so hard they had little effect. What had I just witnessed? Who was Paul really? What was Paul?

"Oh my god. Don't be ridiculous… 'What is Paul?' Bullshit… he's human. He has to be… right? Oh my god." I went over our very limited interactions in my head, looking for any hint or any clue to anything abnormal. I swung around a turn, just a little too wide, then straightened out.

"God, I'm such an idiot! This is why we don't hook up with strangers, Isabella." I used my birth name on myself.

"I just need to calm down and figure out a way to never see him again. It shouldn't be too hard, he doesn't know where I live. Ok. I've got this." I whispered. It was difficult to say that.

When I made another wide turn on the wet pavement my last thought before I slammed head on into a tree was how it had hurt to think of never seeing Paul again. Then everything went black.

"Beep."

"Beep."

"Beep."

"Beep."

The sound of a hospital monitor rang in my pounding head. As a lifelong clutz it was a very familiar sound to me. There were also the familiar smells of cleaning solution and medications to back my sense of these sounds up.

Blearily, I opened my eyes to take in the scene around me. Charlie was standing in a doorway, speaking with who I could only assume was my doctor. They were both faced away from me so they couldn't see that I'd woken up. I turned a little to try to see the rest of the room. I didn't get very far before a bright light was shone right in my eyes and a nurse announced that I'd come to.

The bright light triggered a memory of what had landed me here. My headlights swung around in the rain and I could hardly make out the road through the rain. Then the truck was slipping and there was an impact. I'd hit something, hard. I was worried that I had hurt someone else but I couldn't keep conscious.

Then headlights surrounded me like a shroud in the darkness and red and blue lights twisted on various trees around me. I was out again before I saw any people.

"Bella?! Can you hear me?" Charlie's panicked voice brought me back to the moment.

"I didn't hurt anyone did I?" I said. I guess this was enough for the doctors to lose their overly concerned expressions, but they still continued to check vitals.

"You hit a tree. You're the only one who got hurt." Came Paul's voice. My head flung so quick to look at him that I felt a sharp sting of pain in my skull and committed right in front of him. Fortunately, I didn't get any of it on him, but unfortunately, I did get it all over myself.

Paul's eyes did the widen and he didn't wear an expression of disgust, he just wore a slight frown. Who was this guy?

"Honey, are you ok?" Charlie asked. I didn't answer, just looked down on the gown I was wearing at the mess I'd made. "I'm sure we can get the nurse back in here to help clean you up." Charlie added. He turned to look at the doctor as he said this, talking more to him than me.

"Absolutely. Then we will take her up for another CT. We are sure it's a severe concussion, but we'll want to make sure there are no other developments." The doctor nodded, then spoke as if I wasn't even awake yet. He made his way out the door and then it was silent for a moment. I could feel Paul's presence in the room even though I refused to look at him now.

"Can you make him leave?" My voice was a quiet mumble and sounded vulnerable even to me.

"Well sure honey, but Paul here saved your life." Charlie told me with tears in his eyes. "You were bleeding from your head, and your stomach. You had to have surgery Bells."

 **Author's Note:**

 **I wanted Bella to react in a realistic way to seeing something supernatural. I feel like a lot of stories have her just like "alright, neat." when she finds out about the wolves. Here though, she has absolutely no experience with anything supernatural so she is confused and freaked out and drove out into the storm like a dum dum. She just needs some time to digest everything that's happening I would think. Although my characters tend to not do things the way I expect them to so who knows?**

 **Reminder: I call them "my characters," but I just mean this version of them. Twilight and all recognizable subjects of Twilight belong to S.M. A.K.A. not me.**

 **Happy Reading!**

 **Dahlia**


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